Monday, April 20, 2009

TO DO or NOT TO DO...

My TO DO's has grown and grown and I seem to be lost on where to begin:

  • Plan JR's 3rd birthday party- (yeah, this Sunday!)
  • Stop eating ice cream EVERY DAY!
  • Figure out when to potty train the little guy..
  • Also figure out how to get him off the binky (pacifier)
  • Clean out my closet
  • Iron hubby's stuff that has been sitting in a pile for weeks
  • Stop thinking about ice cream EVERY DAY!
  • Call Donna (thinking about you girl!!)
  • Call Dana (yes, would love to go to lunch on Fri!)
  • Smile at hubby (I think I was snarling when he left this morning..)
  • Stop buying ice cream, even when it is on sale!
  • Buy some new workout clothes, current stuff is actually getting to loose and distracting when I am at the gym.
  • Plan computer during the day and stick to a schedule, so I am not mindlessly Tweeting and blogging and FB all day....
  • Hug my kids, because even though they probably think I am the Mommy-Monster and the crankiest chick in town, I love them and certainly their hugs are the best part of the day!!!

Off to hug the cuties!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

no yelling by 12pm...

Life always seems to throw in it's two sense just when you think you have it all figured out. Here I was, working out, eating great - gluten-free definately seems the way to go for me! I was feeling good and taking care of myself and I really felt like I was moving forward. I even felt a little bit more patience with the kiddies (yes, I hear Hubby chuckling at that one!) Anyhoo, I had it down pat. Then, both kids came down with that stomach-puking-and-coming-out-the-other-end thing, as well as dear Hubby getting sick too. I think I have never done so much laundry EVER, and that is just what needed to be done right away! I am still catching up with everything else. So, no gym for momma for a week, no trainer, no planned meals - just eating on the run, or from running from sick child to sick child, then to laundry room. As I hit the gym today, my awesome trainer Francine noticed I was not hitting it as hard as I could. Normally when I get to "that point", the point where I would probably stop on my own, but have her to help me push through, I usually start to laugh a little nervous laughter. Today, I wanted to cry and throw up. So strange the way our bodies deal with stress. Afterward, I felt that "I needed that!" goodness and can now go on with the rest of the day feeling that I accomplished something.

And no, I didn't puke.

Crying on the other hand will probably come later tonight when I can finally settle in and just gather my thoughts. Parenting, really putting them first can be tiring. And duh! why shouldn't it be? Sometimes though, I wonder if I am cut out for this - 4 year old Sarah hits her brother (3 yrs old), I tell her to go to her room to cool down - she shouts "NNNOOO!!" and then tells me to go to my room!! I walk over and tell her that she will spend longer in there if I have to carry her
there myself. She yells, but goes. She continues to scream while in her room for 15 minutes, then asks if she can come out. I politely tell her that her "Time Out" has not yet begun, that the timer will be set when she cools down first. Do you think she liked this? She yelled and screamed and I called Hubby for some backup- am I doing something wrong? I am trying not to yell or REACT. She needs to learn that people will listen when she is calm and not yelling. He assures me that this seems to be a better way than the Yell-First-Ask-Later route I usually take. Eventually, she did calm down and I went into her room, gave her hug and told her she could come out.

The thing is, do they learn? Or, is this a dance that we will do for how many more years to come?
As for right now, she tired herself out into a nap and I can watch my this morning's recorded episode of "The View".

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

another sick day

I found a minute to jump in the shower. Thank goodness for that! I even shaved my legs and will slap some make-up on in a few. I know, home with 2 sick kids, why the make-up? Listen, you never know when the Maytag man will show up (although, that would be really strange since there is nary a Maytag appliance in our home...) Yet, if he were to show up, I'd at least look human. Kids are napping for a while and Sarah finally believes me now that if she takes another sip of Gatorade it will come right back up.

As for the momma-work-in-progress I have noticed a major good change in me- normally when the kids are sick and I feel stressed, I EAT. I mean EAT ALL DAY LONG! I feel now though that it is important to take better care of myself in order to take better care of them, the little ones and the Hubby. I have been keeping track of what I eat, and when I eat certain food (wheat, gluten) how I feel and it's always the same- itching throat, sinus congestion, stomach ache a few hours later, but the thing I notice the most is my mood. I had this big, GIGANTIC muffin yesterday and I immediately felt fogginess in my head and very, very irritable (yes Hubby, more than normal!). Knowing this really helps me make better decisions on what and when I eat. Later this month I have an appointment for allergy testing since I want to get to the bottom of it in case there is something that needs to be checked with the kids. But even if no test shows a gluten intolerance or allergy, I believe it IS important to listen to your body- it certainly knows best. (now as for the pizza and wine last night, let's just think of that as medication!!)

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

that's a man for ya!

It has been 20 minutes since my last post. Do you know what can happen in 20 minutes? Well my little girl has gotten sick, again. I cleaned that up and then noticed JR still playing the Leapster on the couch. Funny, he doesn't usually lay on his belly to play? Then I smelled it. The overwhelming diaper smell. Ok yeah, he is 3 and still in diapers. We'll talk about that another day. So I don't even need to check his diaper because it is all up his back, on his pants, his shirt, everywhere. Everywhere but the couch. I have to give him credit, since in his video game induced stupor, by rolling over and not wanting to sit in his mess, he saved my couch from a major, major stain. thank you son for being a man.

Now I need a vacation. I called Hubby, ordered a pizza and opened a bottle of wine. A good wine. Here's to momma's all around the world. The puke cleaners, the poop wipers, all of it.

And now to my dear trainer, you can certainly kick my ass majorly when I finally break free and see you later this week...

Salud!!

help

Here we go again! JR had a stomach-puking thing going on for a few days and now sweet Sarah has it. I never knew that when I had children that the color and content of their vomit would be such an issue. oh my god- is that blood? oh no, just a blueberry from her muffin this morning. Really, and now I sware I am starting to feel queasy myself. I'm not sure if it's in my head or if Hubby is gonna be holding my hair back later while I yack into the toilet. uh oh- flashback of the good ole days! But then, those episodes were completely self-induced by overindulgence of gin & tonics and way too many buffalo wings.

And yes, what a great mom I am. Running down the stairs to blog, wiping the handrail with disinfecting wipes as I trotted my little way of "getting out of the house", praying that Hubby will allow me to go out to the gym to cardio my ass away. I am listening for the sick sounds upstairs, but at the same time googling "gluten-free recipes" for myself. Thank goodness the Leapster keeps JR busy, so I guess you would call this a break for today. Until I hear the moaning and yelling for "Mommeeeee!", then it's back to work. Oh, and I suppose I should plan something for dinner too. Leftovers sound very nice right about now.

Friday, April 03, 2009

health and good choices

We lose people we love.
We lose time by complaining or remaining inactive.
Too much loss for one girl to handle.

My recent enlightenment on my own health and well-being is definately what is first on my mind lately. I wake up and feel great. I know that the choices I make will make it a great day, or a crappy day. I know this, we all know this. Sometimes we choose to make the decisions that hurt us, usually out of habit or comfort. But when we step up and make the choice to put ourselves first, not in the "I deserve the damn ice cream" sense, but in the " I deserve to live a full and healthy life" sense, then it is a win-win situation. I have a great day without migraines or stomach troubles. I have energy. My kids get a mom with more patience and love to go around, and last for the entire day. Hubby gets, well, he gets some good momma. Everyone's happy all around.

What has been the change? Well I came to find out with some dietary changes that it is either wheat or gluten that affects my body in a very bad way. I am not a doctor and would tell anyone who thinks they might have a problem to always see their doctor first. I made some apppointments in order to pinpoint the cause, the first starting with an actual allergy. Then we'll move on from there. So the kids and I stopped by the health food store to pick up a few items to make some waffles tomorrow that we can all enjoy. Excited! Yes, excited to enjoy food without always complaining how sick I feel. Yeah, I'll miss the beer, but hey, I can handle some fun times with a gin and tonic or a nice bottle of wine!

*make the choice to see the brighter side of things each and every day!!!!!*